Preserve your summer harvest with the absolute best pie cherry canning recipe! This simple, beginner-friendly recipe will show you how to water-bath can fresh, tart pie cherries in a light simple syrup so you can enjoy home-baked pies all through 2026 and beyond!
This Cherry Pie Canning recipe transforms fresh pie cherries into the juiciest, most flavorful pie filling your pantry has ever seen. Plus, they’ll keep for years to come!
Once you’ve got these beautiful jars sitting in your pantry, you can use them year-round to whip up my absolute favorite Easy Cherry Pie Recipe!
This recipe is for canning 6-7 quart canning jars.
Tools You’ll Need:
- 12 pounds of fresh pie cherries… I bought mine from Keyy Orchards between Payette and Weiser Idaho. (They’re beautiful and perfect! They are so good that they actually taste good on their own before adding any sugar!)
- A Cherry Pitter!!! – You can use a knife, but a good cherry pitter will save you hours!
- Simple Syrup. I made a super light simple syrup, because I try to keep my (and my family’s) sugar intake pretty low.)
- Extra light simple syrup is made with 1/2 cup granulated sugar and 5 cups of water. I doubled the batch but had a bunch of leftovers.
- 7 clean quart jars and lids.
- A water bath canner or large pot & lid with canning rings on the bottom.
- A Jar Lifter.
How To Make Pie Cherry Canning Recipe Quarts
- First, wash your cherries really well… I like to fill a clean sink with cool water and a cup of vinegar. The vinegar helps get the dirt and pesticides (if they’re not organic) off.
- Then fill the other sink with cold ice water and put your clean cherries into it while you start pitting them.
- Pit your cherries and place pitted cherries in a large bowl.
- Fill your water bath canner, or large pot/water bath canner, so that when full of 7-quart jars the water will cover the lids by 2 inches.
- Make your simple syrup by dissolving 1/2 a cup of sugar for every 5 cups of water, then turn to low.
- Fill your clean quart jars with cherries.
- Ladle the warm light syrup to fill quart jars, leaving 1-inch head space.
- Remove air bubbles with a knife.
- Wipe jar rims clean.
- Place filled jars into your water-bath canner.
- Set a new clean lid onto each clean quart jar.
- Place band over the lid and tighten to “fingertight.”
- Fill water bath canner with jars.
- Make sure the water level is 2 inches above lids.
- Place the lid on the canner, and Turn the heat to high till it comes to a rolling boil.
- After the water starts boiling, set a timer for 20 minutes.
- When time is up, remove jars with a Jar Lifter and place them on a towel-covered counter space to cool overnight.
- The next day, remove bands over lids, and store jars for future use!
Frequently Asked Questions & Canning Tips
Can you use this recipe for sweet cherries?
This specific recipe is optimized for sour pie cherries. Sweet cherries have a completely different natural sugar and acid profile. If you decide to can sweet cherries, you will generally want to use a lighter hand with any added sweetness, but keep in mind they lack the classic tart “zing” required for traditional cherry pies.
What is the best simple syrup ratio for low-sugar canning?
To let the true flavor of the fresh cherries shine through, this recipe uses an extra-light simple syrup (1/2 cup sugar to 5 cups water). If you prefer a completely sugar-free option, you can can cherries in plain water or fruit juice, though a tiny bit of sugar helps preserve the berries’ vibrant color and firm texture over long-term storage.
Do I have to pit the cherries before water bath canning?
While you technically can leave the pits in, it is highly recommended to use a cherry pitter before processing. Pitting them upfront makes it a fast “dump-and-pour” process when you are ready to bake a pie later. Plus, leaving pits in for extended storage can sometimes impart a subtle, bitter almond flavor to the liquid.
How do I adjust the processing time for high altitude?
The standard processing time for this raw-pack quart recipe is 20 minutes at a rolling boil (for altitudes between 0–1,000 feet). If you live at a higher altitude, you must adjust your timer to ensure safety:
- 1,001 – 3,000 feet: Process for 25 minutes
- 3,001 – 6,000 feet: Process for 30 minutes
- Above 6,000 feet: Process for 35 minutes
Why did my cherries float to the top of the jar?
Cherry floating is incredibly common with the “raw pack” method! Because raw cherries contain trapped air inside their tissues, they are lighter than the simple syrup, causing them to float after processing. It is completely harmless. To minimize this next time, make sure you pack the raw cherries tightly into the jars (without crushing them) before ladling in your warm syrup.
You May Also Enjoy These Canning Recipes & Preserve Your Harvest!
Crushed Tomato Canning Recipe included in this Marinara Recipe
Sugar-Free Applesauce Canning Recipe
The Best Strawberry Jam Recipe
Zucchini Pineapple Canning Recipe
I want to know what YOU think, Please review the recipe card!
Pie Cherry Canning Recipe (Raw Pack Method)
Ingredients
- 12 lbs pie cherries
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 5 cups water
Instructions
- First, wash your cherries really well… I like to fill a clean sink with cool water and a cup of vinegar. The vinegar helps get the dirt and pesticides (if they're not organic) off.
- Then fill the other sink with cold ice water and put your clean cherries into it while you start pitting them.
- Pit your cherries and place pitted cherries in a large bowl.
- Fill your water bath canner, or large pot/water bath canner, so that when full of 7-quart jars the water will cover the lids by 2 inches.
- Make your simple syrup by dissolving 1/2 a cup of sugar for every 5 cups of water, then turn to low.
- Fill your clean quart jars with cherries.
- Ladle the warm light syrup to fill quart jars, leaving 1-inch head space.
- Remove air bubbles with a knife.
- Wipe jar rims clean.
- Place filled jars into your water-bath canner.
- Set a new clean lid onto each clean quart jar.
- Place band over the lid and tighten to "fingertight."
- Fill water bath canner with jars.
- Make sure the water level is 2 inches above lids.
- Place the lid on the canner, and Turn the heat to high till it comes to a rolling boil.
- After the water starts boiling, set a timer for 20 minutes.
- When time is up, remove jars with a Jar Lifter and place them on a towel-covered counter space to cool overnight.
- The next day, remove bands over lids, and store jars for future use!
Nutrition
About Juliea
Juliea is a mother of six, a sourdough baker, and a homestead builder living in Idaho. Alongside her husband and their horse, Dude, she manages a busy farmhouse and shares her love for scratch-cooking and simple homemaking. Through her blog and YouTube channel, she helps millions of families every year master the art of the handmade home.
5 comments
Joellen
Wow, those visuals really complement your
recipe perfectly! 🖼️ I appreciate how you’ve used imagery
to illustrate effectively.
Juliea Huffaker
Hi Dei! Yes you can… Just make sure they’re thawed then drain the juice and follow the rest of the recipe! Thanks for asking!
Juliea Huffaker
Hi Danielle! I stabbed through the foil to do the final temp test… IT was at 200 degrees F… You don’t open the foil till it reaches the 200 degree mark;) Thanks for asking!
Ammy Stinson
Do you have a cherry pie recipe to use these canned cherries with?
juliea
Hi Ammy! YES! Thanks for asking! You ca get that recipe at https://farmhouseharvest.net/cherry-pie-recipe/